Week 4 is a lackluster lineup with only two top 25 matchups this week. But with this comes a time for reflection. Remember in Week 0 when we stayed up excited for New Mexico State and Wyoming because football was back? That was only one month ago. Let’s keep the football is back attitude all year! Plus, it is quiet weekends like these where upsets happen. Let’s start the run down!
Run Down (All Times EST)
Friday Night Frenzy
Florida Atlantic at #16 UCF (-13.5), 7:00 ESPN
CLEAR YOUR FRIDAY NIGHT! CANCEL YOUR DATE! INVITE THE BOYS OVER! We have Lane Kiffin AKA Joey Freshwater going up to Orlando for a Florida showdown. The winner will be in prime position for the top team in the group of five. UCF quarterback struggled against South Carolina State throwing 3 interceptions in a 38-0 win. He won’t be able to get away with that against Florida Atlantic.
Gambling Advice: I like FAU to keep it close. Maybe even pull the upset. Also the over/under is set at 77!! FAU doesn’t have a bad defense and neither offense has lit it up. Hammer the under.
Washington State at USC (-3.5), 10:30 ESPN
USC has been terrible. Sam Darnold must’ve really been holding that team together last year. As for Washington State they’ve won by more than 20 points each game with their toughest opponent being Wyoming. Who knows what’ll happen… which makes for a great Friday night.
Gambling Advice: Stay away. The Cougars are unproven and USC is bad. This could go either way, but if you have to bet go Washington State.
Saturday Morning Hangover Games
#2 Georgia (-14) at Missouri, Noon ESPN
If you want to take a nice nap that’s ok too. Georgia should be in no trouble against a team that had to sneak out of Purdue with a last second field goal. Missouri QB Drew Lock is very good and the offense could put up some points, but the defense is nowhere near being able to stop Georgia.
Gambling Advice: Georgia wins in a blowout.
#8 Notre Dame (-7.5) at Wake Forest, Noon ABC
Notre Dame is playing ,so the game is going to be close. They couldn’t blow out Ball State and barely survived Vanderbilt. Let’s see how they handle going on the road to Winston-Salem.
Gambling Advice: Wake Forest keeps it close and maybe wins. Take Wake Forest and the points.
6-Pack Deep Games
#22 Texas A&M at #1 Alabama (-27), 3:30 CBS
The Aggies made it interesting against Clemson, but this Bama team is a totally different animal. Tua Tagovailoa hasn’t played an entire game yet because of how big their leads are. The Aggies are the toughest defense Alabama has played, but it won’t be good enough to slow down the offense with Tua on the field.
Gambling Advice: Alabama’s covered the past three games, the strong bet is for them to cover again. Also over 61 with Kellen Mond scoring a few touchdowns.
#17 TCU (-3) at Texas, 4:30 FOX
No. Texas is still not good. They beat a bad USC team that featured a few very questionable calls (how was that not a safety??). TCU on the other hand put on a very strong performance against Ohio State. Think everyone can head to 6th street a little early with TCU winning by double digits.
Gambling Advice: ALL THE MONEY ON TCU
Whiskey Night Games
#14 Mississippi State (-10) at Kentucky 7:00 ESPN2
I still think Mississippi State is one of the most underrated teams in college football. The Bulldogs and Crimson Tide are the only two teams to average more than 50 ppg and give up less than 10 ppg. Kentucky is alright, but Mississippi State wins by double digits.
Gambling Advice: Bet Mississippi State
Texas Tech at #15 Oklahoma State (-13), 7:00 FS1
Oklahoma State may be one of the most surprising teams in college football. Their defense is actually pretty good and Taylor Cornelius does a good job managing the offense. Texas Tech has found their rhythm over the past few weeks on offense including putting up 63 points against Houston. I still can’t get over them only scoring 27 points against Ole Miss though.
Gambling Advice: Think Oklahoma State wins a close one. Also bet the under 77.5. Oklahoma State hasn’t gave up more than 21 points all year. Texas Tech should obviously score more than that, but they won’t get to 78.
#7 Stanford (-2) at #20 Oregon, 8:00 ABC
A really good Pac-12 matchup. Oregon was my pick to be the surprise team at the start of year and so far they haven’t disappointed. But Stanford has also looked really good even though their win against USC looks less impressive. Saturday night in Eugene will be tough and I think the game will be close.
Gambling Advice: Not confident, but give me Oregon and the two points.
#18 Wisconsin (-3) at Iowa, 8:30 FOX
Can Wisconsin avoid losing 2 in a row? That would turn “Jump Around” into “Sit Down.” Wisconsin really has not been that impressive at all in the past three games. Iowa holding Iowa State to 3 points looks more impressive after Iowa State scoring 27 points against Oklahoma. Iowa is a good football team and the home game at night will be a major advantage.
Gambling Advice: Iowa in a close one. Take the points. Also 43.5 is a very low over/under. Think the over hits.
One-Eye Open Game
Arizona State at #10 Washington (-17.5), 10:30 ESPN
Huskies continue the Pac-12 at dark tradition from last week. The offense looked horrible last week against Utah and was a much closer game than it seemed. Arizona State also had a tough loss against San Diego State.
Gambling Advice: Washington’s offense right now looks like it can barely score 17 points. They’re supposed to cover by 17.5 points? Bet Arizona State in a potential upset.
Top Bets of the Week
Season Record: 17-8-1
Last Week’s Record: 9-5
- TCU -3 at Texas
- North Texas -13.5 at Liberty– They just beat Arkansas by 27 points and the closest game has been a 23 point win. They can handle beating Liberty by 14.
- Georgia -14 at Missouri
- Miss State -10 at Kentucky
- Nebraska +19.5 at Michigan– Nebraska isn’t good, but they have a little bit of defense. That’s enough to keep it within 19.5 points.
- FAU at UCF Under 77
- Boston College -6.5 at Purdue– How is Purdue going to stop AJ Dillion? Answer: They’re not going to be able to.
- NC State -5 at Marshall– NC State is much better than Marshall. They cover the 5 points easily.
- East Carolina +24 at South Florida– South Florida barely beat Illinois. How are they going to cover 24 points against East Carolina?
- Texas Tech at Oklahoma State Under 77.5
Bonus Picks
- Kansas State at West Virginia -16– West Virginia has a lot of offense. Kansas State is bad. West Virginia is going to win by 20+
- Pittsburgh -4.5 at North Carolina– North Carolina has been off for a week and still has players suspended. Pittsburgh should win.
- Arizona State +17.5 at Washington
- Clemson -17 at Georgia Tech– Georgia Tech has looked awful. I think Clemson finally puts together a solid blowout this week.
- Florida Atlantic +13.5 at UCF
Rant of the Week
My rant this week is about having nothing to rant about. Why is everyone being so rational? Nobody is saying the Big Ten is the best conference, a terrible team is playoff bound, or arguing strength of schedule. It is extremely early and I know in about one month I’m going to have five things to rant about, but right now there is nothing.
I even went on twitter trying to get triggered. I’ve done everything this week and nothing has helped. Maybe I’m just not grouchy enough. I’m not old enough to be yelling at clouds. I’m just not cut out for this college football writing stuff.
But then I remembered there is one absolute terrible college football analyst with the most ridiculous takes. A guy that could spin just about anything into a terrible take. Let’s see what terrible take he has for the week!
*Opens Twitter, Searches Danny Kanell, Scrolls past tweets*
I give up. Here’s your rant about nothing. Sorry for wasting the past 5 minutes of your life.
Thank God It's Saturday 